


The Pied Piper

by mjm_mv



Category: Miami Vice (TV)
Genre: Explicit Language, Gen, Mild Sexual Content, Originally Posted Elsewhere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 13:43:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20676356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mjm_mv/pseuds/mjm_mv
Summary: Caroline is worried Billy is in with the wrong crowd and turns to Crockett to help her reach their son.





	1. The Gun

**THE PIED PIPER**

**Chapter 1: The Gun**

Except for the single light in the cafeteria, the high school appeared deserted. The custodian had been there since four am, mopping the floors and getting the classrooms ready for the day. On a trip to the dumpster, he left the gymnasium door propped open. He never noticed the two figures slip past him and high tail it into the building.

It promised to be a rainy day. Heavy clouds blocked the morning sunlight just enough to leave the boy’s locker room shrouded in gloom. The young man stood by the window and held up the stainless-steel pistol, pretending to appraise it thoughtfully.

“So, how much?” he asked.

The kid dressed in black smiled. “Normally, I’d ask two-fifty, but we’re running a sale for new guys today. One seventy-five. You gotta let me know by tonight, though. They’re lining up around the block and I got a schedule to keep going, ‘Tick tock’, if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll have the money by this afternoon.”

A 7:30 bell gonged loudly, and the young man flinched.

“It’s cool. No one’s here yet,” the kid in black said with a grin.

And it was true. Despite the bell, the locker room was still deserted.

Derrick Connors pulled the gun out of the young man’s hand and dropped it quickly into his backpack. “You know how to reach me.”

He hoisted the load over his shoulder and slipped out the door.

The young man sat on the bench and waited, the image of Derrick’s retreating figure etched in his mind. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why he found this guy so intriguing. He never met anyone quite like him before; the pasty white face, the gothic-black clothes; an icy blue stare that pierced you to the core. It was not someone the young man would normally have been drawn to, but there seemed to be a mysterious fascination he couldn’t explain.

He took some comfort in knowing he wasn’t the only one. Derrick Connors had quite a following with a number of students at Southside High. Jocks, geeks, cheerleaders, it didn’t matter. Derrick’s defiance attracted those looking for alternatives; his promise of excitement and danger drew others like frenzied moths toward a burning light.

The idea of buying the gun still sent rivulets of fear coursing through his veins. His mother would kill him if she found out. And his father …

He swallowed, fighting hard against the lump in his throat.

_Yeah, dear old dad …_

Sometimes, it brought tears to his eyes when he thought about him, but this time, imagining his father’s angry reaction only made him smile. Of course, this had been the point of contacting Derrick from the beginning.

_Get the gun, learn how to shoot… shake up Dad in a way he’d understand ... _

He’d cool off eventually. Realizing his son had become a man would make him sit up and take notice. Maybe make him care again. And once he realized his son could hold his own, he might even begin to respect him. Want to be with him. Teach him everything he knew …

The second bell startled him. Slowly, he got up from the bench and headed to the gymnasium, almost running down the football coach coming out of his office.

“Hey, how ya doing?’” Jack Butler boomed.

The young man tried hard not to cringe. “Hey, coach.”

“You’re the new kid from Central High. Bill, right?”

_Shit! _

“Yes, sir. Just heard the second bell. I gotta go.”

Butler blocked the way. “It’s, all right. I’ll give you a pass. Give me a minute. This is important.”

The young man knew what was coming. He had read the notes Butler had left on his locker; heard from his gym teacher the coach had been trying to reach him.

“Saw you score the winning touchdown against us during the playoffs last year. You outran one of my best players. You have a lot of speed, son.”

The kid wanted to laugh. Too bad speed wasn’t the key to popularity. The rivalry between Central, his old high school and Southside, his new one, was fierce and during a highly emotional game last year, many at Southside felt his winning touchdown had robbed them of the trophy. He could tell the students were still smarting from the humiliation and many kept their distance. But once the teachers and coaches found out who he was, they couldn’t seem to get enough of him.

“I could use a guy like you,” the coach was saying.

He had to admit he missed his days on the field. He missed the adrenaline rush he felt when he knew his speed and accuracy made all the difference.

But most of all, he missed his teammates. He didn’t have any buddies in this place. At least, not yet.

_And, stupid… you aren’t going to find any sitting on our ass …_

“How ‘bout it, son?” Coach Butler asked, peering anxiously over his reading glasses.

The young man leaned against the cool tile wall with an air of resignation. “Yeah, okay…I guess so,” he said in a soft voice.

“Excellent! Make sure you bring your parents’ permission slip and medical clearance from your family doctor. The practice is on Thursday, 3:30 on the field.”

“Okay, sir. I really gotta go.” The young man turned on his heel and attempted to escape into the hall.

“Hold on a sec.” The coach pulled the pencil from behind his ear and looked at the roster he held in his hand. “Spell the last name for me if you don’t mind.”

_What the hell … Hope he’s not like this on the field_

The young man’s blue-green eyes flashed with humor; a handsome grin lit up his face. “The name’s Billy Crockett, sir. That’s C-R-O-C-K-E-T-T. It’s ten after, so I’ll need that pass now if you don’t mind.”

“Don’t disappoint me, Billy Crockett,” Coach Butler said. “I’m counting on winning the championship this year.”

It was said in a friendly tone but even the new kids were aware of the football coach’s reputation and the young man considered himself warned.

“I hear you,” he said, grabbing the pass and pushing his way out the door.

“Loud and clear,” he muttered, as he sprinted down the hall.

******

Sonny had not slept well the night before, and it showed. He was hoping the strong coffee would help him concentrate, but so far, the only thing keeping him awake was the incessant throb in his right temple.

“Stan, on your way back, would you bring me the reports off Castillo’s desk.”

“Yeah, sure, Sonny. Geeze, I saw Lydia bringing in a bunch more this morning. Man, you have your work cut out for you. ”

“Catch-up work, Castillo called it. He wants my follow-ups finished by the time he gets back tomorrow, and I’ve let it go to the last minute as usual.”

“I can’t believe he’s been gone a week.”

“I think it’s the first real vacation he’s had in three years.” A funny look passed over Crockett’s face. “Maybe I need to take some time for a little vacation. I hear Atlanta’s nice this time of year.”

“Atlanta?” Stan was thoughtful. “I’m kind of partial to the Keys, myself. Now there’s a place to get away from it all.”

Sonny sighed and looked down at the top of his desk. Files, like his thoughts, were scattered everywhere.

“Here, Sonny.”

Gina reached over to take away his stale coffee and replaced it with a fresh cup. “You didn’t get to sleep last night until nearly three. And even then, you tossed and turned for hours. What’s the matter? Too much on your mind?”

“Yeah, restless, I guess.”

She put her hand over his and squeezed it gently.

“Listen. I’m finished with my last assignment, and I have two days off coming. How about I help you with some of this, and we can go home early? We could barbecue a couple of burgers, have a few beers, and then, who knows. With a little imagination, I’m sure we could discover some ways to help you unwind.”

“Tempting,” he said with a tired grin.

But it wasn’t work that was distracting him. The phone call from Caroline had come out of the blue. Snatches of her words kept hitting him hard like punches to his midsection. 

“You constantly let him down, Sonny….you promised him last month and then changed your mind … again. It’s serious this time. Bob has thrown up his hands. I need you to step in.”

He hated it when she did that. He wanted to believe he was a man of his word but as far as his son was concerned she always managed to remind him how miserably he had failed.

_But you’re the one who took Billy away! And then, you marry this…this guy! _

It had always infuriated Sonny that someone else had been given the right to bring up his son. Frustration punctuated every conversation he had with Caroline, especially when he heard his ex-wife describe Bob’s methods of discipline.

_No wonder the kid’s hostile _

“Easy for you to criticize,” she said angrily. “We deal with him and his problems every day. You see him a week a year. Maybe. If he’s lucky.”

“Caroline…”

“I don’t want to argue.” Her voice had become hoarse and he knew she was fighting back tears. “I can feel Billy slipping away and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. It frightens me.”

This time, he kept quiet.

“There’s a football game this weekend . Saturday night. You’re the one who encouraged him to join. Having you there will mean a lot to him.”

“I’ll be there,” he had told her. Now he had to break the news to Gina.

“I have to go to Atlanta. My kid needs me. He’s in trouble.”

“I’m sorry, Sonny. I hope it’s nothing serious.”

“He’s trying to adjust to a new school, and he’s been hanging around with the wrong crowd. He’s sullen, rebellious and won’t listen to Caroline or Bob. She seems to think I’m the only one who can reach him. The trouble is, I’ve put off seeing him so many times, I’m not sure I have that influence anymore.”

He sighed heavily.

“Anyway, he has his first football game this weekend. I need to be there.” He paused. “Hey, we both have the weekend off. How about coming with me? Billy knows you, in fact I think he’s had a crush on you for quite a while, now. You could help run interference for me.”

“This is a family issue, Sonny. Caroline might resent it if I come.”

Despite the logic behind her comment, Sonny didn’t care. “She’ll have to get over it. You’re a big part of my life now.”

He could tell she was pleased.

“Okay. Anything I can do to help.”

She reached over for the file labeled ‘Morales’. “I was with you on this stakeout. Let me take this file back to my desk and try to make sense out of it. Meanwhile, you’d better call the airlines and book us a flight.”

“Thanks, hon,” he said, giving her a grateful smile and picked up the phone.

******

Caroline rested her face in her hands and took a deep breath.

Since moving to the new area in Atlanta, she had noticed a troubling change in her son. Always a good student, now his grades seemed to be suffering. He had been one of the popular ones at Central, but this year, he never spoke about new friends. He was getting home from school pretty late, claiming he stayed for extra help. One afternoon while driving by the park, she saw him behind some trees, smoking with a group of other teens. Then one day while doing laundry, she was sure she caught the musky smell of pot clinging to one of his shirts.

When she confronted him, he refused to admit it. He became furious, stomping into his room and refusing to come out for dinner. Bob grounded him for a week and insisted he come home on the regular school bus instead of the one scheduled for after-school activities. But her usually well-behaved boy ignored the demands and continued waltzing home after dark. Bob lost his temper, almost striking Billy after a particularly ugly shouting match. The atmosphere at home had become so toxic, she realized the only person who could reach Billy was his father.

At first, Sonny sounded skeptical. “Caroline, he'll be fine. It's a new school. He'll make new friends.”

“You don’t understand. This is not the same sweet kid you saw the last time you visited. He’s like a stranger.”

“He’s a teenager. Hormones are raging. He’s testing his boundaries. He misses his old high school-take your pick.”

“Sonny, no, it’s more than that. This is really serious.”

Sonny had just called back to say he was booking the flight and said he was bringing Gina. That didn’t really sit well with her, but she let it go. Especially since she’d made up her mind that this time, she’d tell him the _whole _story. “If I wait until he gets here, there’s no telling how he’ll react,” she thought.

_Maybe it’s a good thing Gina’s coming_

She took a deep breath.

“Sonny. I think he’s been smoking pot.”

Sonny exploded. “Are you kidding me?” His voice was hard, almost hostile. His cop persona took over: Did she notice any money missing from her wallet? Was Billy forgetting things? Did he ever have a glazed expression? Had she searched his drawers or closet for drug paraphernalia?

“No, I didn’t search his room. I’m pretty sure it was only pot, Sonny.”

“Pretty sure? _Only_ pot? Damn it, Caroline! He’s fifteen!”

Her throat got tight with emotion and she could feel the hot sting of tears. “That’s not fair! I’m frightened and I’m reaching out to you for help! This isn’t the time for your blame game!”

She heard him sigh. “Okay, okay…you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Fine,” she said, mentally gritting her teeth.

“I’ll call you after we land.” He hung up abruptly.

Caroline put the phone back on the base and sat down on the couch to think. Sonny and Billy had always been close. But now things had changed. Would Billy be glad to see him? Would he open up to his father? Would he trust him?

The next thought made her shudder. Sonny had a temper and if he had any suspicion Billy was into something illegal, he’d lose it with him. That could alienate Billy even more.

It was the first time she had ever worried about Sonny’s connection to law enforcement and how it might hurt the father/son relationship more than it would help.

“Please, God,” she prayed. “Let Sonny heal this rift. Make him see how much his son wants him in his life.”

******

“I don’t think I like the way you’re talking to me, buddy!” the distraught woman shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

The only answer Doris received was a chilling silence.

“What can I do, what can I do,” she repeated to herself as if this senseless mantra would offer a solution. Derrick was becoming more and more hostile. In fact, lately, she was forced to admit she had become a little afraid of him. 

“Imagine, afraid of my own son! How could this happen?”

The ear-splitting squeal of an electric guitar filtered through Derrick’s closed bedroom door. Doris bit the inside of her lip, worrying about the neighbor’s reaction as she glanced over at the open windows. The woman picked up her pocketbook from the kitchen counter and headed for the back door.

“I need to get a few things,” she whispered. “By the time I get back, maybe he’ll have calmed down a little.”

As she backed the car out of the driveway, she caught sight of Derrick’s friend, Jeremy, coming up the walk.

“Derrick home?’ he asked sullenly.

She almost laughed at the question. How could he miss the deafening sounds of heavy metal coming from Derrick’s bedroom window?

“Why, yes he is, Jeremy,” she answered in a sarcastic tone. “Go right in. I’m sure you’ll have no problem finding where he is.”

The boy gave her a slight wave as if to send her on her way, and then sauntered through the front door without giving her a second glance.

Unfortunately for South Side High, she wasn’t present to hear the conversation between Jeremy and her son.

“Derrick? It’s me.”

Jeremy heard the invitation to enter and saw his friend sitting on the floor, staring out the window, his guitar cradled in his lap.

“So, we’re hitting tomorrow, right?” Jeremy asked.

“Yes…for the thousandth time, it goes down tomorrow, at the game. Now stop asking stupid questions and shut the door before you broadcast the entire plan to my old lady. Not to mention the whole block, you asshole …”

**********

Sonny saw their luggage on the carousel. “Here you go,” he said, handing Gina a small suitcase.

They picked up the car Sonny had rented and settled in for the ride to the motel. He hadn’t said anything on the plane, and he could tell Gina was trying to get him to open up.

“I know you’re worried. Tell me what to expect.”

“He’s been smoking pot, Gina.”

She glanced over at him. “I know what you’re thinking. Just don’t over-react, okay?”

He was quiet for a minute. “You of all people should know what this could mean. Kids and drugs. I’m sick over this. I don’t even know where to start. I’ve been absent for so long, it may be too late. My God, how do I reach him when I don’t even know him?”

“He’s trying to fit in. Experimenting. We all did it once, only back then, it was with alcohol. But I don’t blame you for worrying. All you can do now is give the kid a chance to open up. You might be surprised when you hear what he has to say.”

They stopped for a red light. “I hope I’m not too surprised,” he said. “Pot’s bad enough. God knows what else he’s into. Caroline was married to a cop, but she can be naïve sometimes. Especially when it comes to Billy.”

“Wait and see. You know he’ll be happy you came to the game. That’ll be a big step toward rebuilding the trust.”

“Maybe. Fifteen’s a tough age. And I’ve lost a lot of ground with him.”

They arrived at the motel at around noon. Sonny turned off the car engine and sat there for a moment. “I put you in the middle of this. I’m sorry, Gina. I wasn’t using my head.”

“It’s okay. You needed me and I came. If Caroline doesn’t want to go into it with me, I understand.”

Caroline and Gina had always been friendly to one another even though the undercurrent of jealousy rippled just below the surface of the smiles and the laughter.

“But that’s in the past, now,” he thought. “Maybe I’m worrying too much.”

He signed in at the desk and ushered her to their room. Caroline invited them to stay, but Sonny wanted them to have a place to get away in case tensions ran high.

“Nothing fancy, but at least it’s private.” He gave her a grin as he opened the door.

“The bed looks comfortable.” She put her arms around his waist, and he kissed her.

“Hmmm,” he murmured. “Maybe we should test it out and see.”

She laughed. “You read my mind, mister.”

They continued the kiss while she pushed the jacket off his shoulders. She pulled his tee shirt out of his pants. Sliding her hands under his shirt, she ran her nails over his bare back.

He reciprocated by unzipping her dress.

Moving one hand from under his shirt, she unbuttoned his pants. He unsnapped her bra, then made sure the dress hanging off her shoulders made its way to the floor. When he felt her shiver, he pulled her closer.

“Take off the shirt,” she said. “I want to feel your skin against mine.” The desire he saw in her eyes excited him. The shirt came off in record time.

They eased their way over to the bed. “Lie down,” she said, a seductive smile playing on her lips. 

Sonny chuckled. “Yes, _ma’am_.”

He pulled down the spread. He took off his pants, then lay down on the clean white sheets.

She continued removing the rest of her clothes. She did it very slowly, one article at a time. When she was finished, she stood there, and let him enjoy the sight of her. 

His breathing accelerated. He knew he couldn’t wait much longer. “Come here,” he said.

She was looking down at his body. Her eyes seemed to be drinking in every detail.

“God, I want you,” he heard her say. Her voice was thick with need.

He reached for her. Then, she straddled him.

******

She expected them to arrive around four-thirty. The timing worked well with her schedule. They could have a drink, maybe a light supper and then, off to the game.

The only problem was Billy wasn’t home yet. He went out at one o’clock this afternoon, and now it was four-fifteen. She had no way of knowing if he even intended to show up for the game.

She heard voices at the front door and saw her former husband standing there.

“Sonny, I’m so glad to see you,” she said as she ran to greet him. She hated to admit it, but her heart still raced a bit whenever she saw him, and sometimes she had to remind herself why their marriage had fallen apart.

As she opened the door to let him in, she saw Gina standing off to the side. Caroline flashed her a friendly smile.

“Gina, how are you? It’s so good to see you.” Then, she gave her a warm hug. She’d always liked the pretty detective and was happy Sonny finally found a woman who understood his passion for police work.

“Come in, come in,” she said. She led them into the cool interior of the house.

“Your home is lovely,” Gina said.

Even though she was glad Gina had come, she still felt some resentment. Why did Sonny focus on his own needs all the time? He was supposed to be focusing on Billy, for God’s sake.

_Be generous. Be gracious. Keep the peace._

“Why thank you, Gina,” she said with a smile. “And welcome to Atlanta.”

******

Sonny took Gina’s hand as they sat together on the couch. Caroline was studying them with an amused expression on her face. Then he saw her glance at the diamond on Gina’s finger and her mood seem to darken.

“So, where’s Bob and the little guy this weekend?” he asked quickly.

“Visiting Bob’s mother. We thought it would be better if you had this time to be alone with Billy.”

Gina glanced over at Sonny.

“Good thinking,” he said. “When Billy gets home, maybe you could show Gina around.”

“Sure. We have lots to talk about,” Caroline said. “And I want to hear all about the wedding plans.”

He held back a laugh when he imagined his ex, discussing wedding plans with his future wife. 

The screen door slammed, and Sonny turned in time to see his son walk into the room.

“Dad?” Billy’s eyes grew wide.

Sonny stood. “Hey, kiddo. How’s it going?”

Billy tackled him. “I can’t believe you’re here. Why didn’t you tell me Dad was coming, Mom?” There was accusation in his eyes.

“Don’t blame your mother. I told her not to promise anything. But I was really anxious to catch your first football game. Mom tells me the coach actively recruited you.”

Billy eyes shifted away. “Yeah, well, I’m not so sure I’m going to stick it out. The other players don’t seem to like my style.”

“Whatta you mean? They don’t like to win?”

Sonny had watched his son play often enough to know talent when he saw it. Even in the eighth grade, Caroline would tell him how coaches from outside travel teams tried to get him to sign up. 

“I don’t think they see it like that. They’re used to playing a certain way, and I don’t fit in to their pattern.”

“Listen. You’re new and the new guy always has to prove himself. You have to give it a chance and let them see what you can do on the field when there’s a real opponent out there.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

He realized Billy just noticed Gina. “Hey, hi there!” he yelled out. His enthusiasm warmed Sonny’s heart.

“Hello, Billy! I’m so happy to see you!”

“Me, too, Gina.”

Billy’s unhappiness dissolved into thin air. Now, the boy was beaming.

After dinner, Billy needed to get ready and Sonny followed him up to his room.

“So, what position do you play?’ Sonny asked as he sat down on Billy’s unmade bed.

“Wide receiver for now.”

Sonny saw his shy smile.

“I told Coach Butler about you. He said he remembered the play you made at the Gator Bowl.”

“You’re kidding! That was a long time ago!”

Billy knew how to get on his father’s good side. All he had to do was bring up Sonny’s 15-minute claim to fame during his college days at the University of Florida. When Billy was a little boy, Sonny never tired of telling his excited six-year-old about how he caught the screen pass and took the ball 95 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

“Yeah, well the coach remembered it well enough to give me the number “88” on my jersey.”

“88. My old number.” Sonny chuckled.

Billy continued to rummage in his closet, tossing out various articles of his clothing as he searched for the pants to his football uniform.

“Mom washed my uniform and told me to bring it to my room. The pants have got to be here somewhere.”

“How ‘bout in your backpack?” Sonny offered, as he pulled the pack from Billy’s desk chair. “Want me to check?”

The noise from the closet stopped abruptly. “No!” the boy shouted as he flew towards Sonny in a panic.

Startled by Billy’s violent reaction, Crockett was momentarily taken aback. “Hey, take it easy. What’s the big deal?”

“Ah, nothing, nothing, Dad. Let me have the bag. I…I just… I have my sweaty clothes in there from practice. They’re pretty awful.”

“What’s going on, Billy?” Sonny asked. His years as an investigator were too ingrained in his mind to allow him to ignore the tell-tale signs his son was hiding something from him.

“What do you mean? I forgot to empty it out last night and Mom was doing laundry this morning. She’ll be pissed, that’s all. Listen, I’m in enough fucking trouble….”

The boy saw his father’s face and he stopped dead in his tracks. 

“Hey, buster! What’s this all about? Some new way of talking?”

Billy reached for his bag. His father refused to give it up.

“Ok, so you don’t trust me. Big deal! I haven’t seen you for a whole year. So why should I care what you think?“

Sonny was quiet for a moment. He took a deep breath and tried to stay calm.

“If you want me to trust you, then give me a reason to! This behavior I’m seeing is pretty new for me.”

“I…I’m sorry. Really, I am! Come on, Dad. Let me have the bag. It’s late and I have to get ready. I think my shoulder pads are in there and I need to check. This is my first game, I don’t want to be late!”

Sonny’s suspicions were aroused, but he wanted to give Billy a chance to come clean on his own. The possibility the boy was into drugs, filled him with dread.

“Here, take it,” he said.

Billy pulled the backpack out of Sonny’s hand.

“Don’t make me regret this, son.”

The boy turned from his father and fled out into the hall.

The confrontation left Sonny stunned and confused. The cop in him berated himself for not insisting on seeing what was inside the bag. But the father in him knew if he wanted to win back his son’s love this would have to be handled very delicately.

******

“Now what?” Doris whined as she looked out her living room window. She didn’t recognize the dark blue sedan parked in front of her house, and the man on her stoop didn’t look familiar, either. The sound of the doorbell made her jump.

“Yes?” she asked the man standing there.

“Mrs. Connors? Mrs. Doris Connors?” the man asked.

_“Careful,” _a little voice whispered.

“Yes. But if you’re selling something, I’m not interested.”

“No, Ma’am. I’m not here to sell anything.” He reached into his pocket and produced an ID for her to see. “I’m special agent James Kennedy, and I’m with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, ma’am. This is special agent Jack Forester.”

Doris noticed the second man for the first time as he began to approach the house from the driveway. She studied each ID carefully, stalling for the moment as her mind began to conjure up all kinds of frightening possibilities.

“We’re looking for a Derrick Connors, ma’am,” the second agent told her. “We need to ask him a few questions if you don’t mind.”

“Derrick? My son?” Doris was genuinely puzzled. “He’s not here right now. What on earth could you want to ask him?”

“I think we may need to go inside, Mrs. Connors. This might take a while, and it’s mighty hot out here in the sun.”

“Yes, yes, of course. Come in, please. Can I offer you anything to drink, or eat, perhaps? I was just about to make lunch?”

She looked up at them hopefully. Anything to get out of the room and give her an opportunity to think.

“Don’t bother, Mrs. Connors. We’re fine. We just need to ask you a few questions and then we’ll be on our way.”

Doris sat down with an unhappy sigh. “Whatever you say, officers. So, what do you want with my Derrick?”

Kennedy flipped open a small pad and took a pen out of his pocket. “Last month, a gun dealership reported a shipment of firearms stolen from their warehouse. It included some high-powered rifles, and two AK 47s. A Lauderdale gun dealer bought one of the smaller guns at a gun show in Miami. He bought it from a kid who told him it was a gift from his father. No paperwork, but the guy bought it anyway. Then, he notified us.”

Kennedy removed a photograph from his pocket.

“This is the boy, ma’am. Is he familiar to you?”

Doris was doing her best to stay calm. “No, I’ve never seen him before.”

Kennedy stared at her.

“It’s Derrick, isn’t it?” he asked.

She turned away.

“Mrs. Connors. We need your cooperation. Can you tell us where we can find him, please?”

**********

The game wasn’t until 7 pm, and Derrick decided to stop off at his house to pick up the extra ammo he’d stashed under the loose floorboard in his room. It surprised him to see two men coming out of his front door.

“Hold it!” he said loudly to Jeremy. “Don’t stop, just keep going.”

Jeremy caught on to the situation quickly. “Who the fuck are they?”

“I’m not sure. Circle around the block and we’ll see where they go.”

Jeremy’s late-model sedan had a hole in the muffler and when he hit the gas, the noise made Derrick cringe. He gave his friend a dirty look.

“Why don’t you wave a flag at them as we go by?” he muttered. “This car is a piece of shit!”

“Hey, it gets you where you want to go, right.”

They turned the corner in time to see the stranger’s dark blue car pull away from the curb. Jeremy waited until the car was out of sight and slid into the driveway.

Derrick raced up the front steps and burst through the door. His mother was on the couch, staring into space.

“So, who the hell were those two goons?” he shouted.

Doris stared as if she didn’t recognize him at all.

“Hey, old lady. I’m talking to you. Who were those men? Answer me!”

“Special agents…the law. They were asking questions…about guns…Derrick, what have you done now?”

He had a wild expression on his face.

“What are you talking about? What did they say?”

“They were asking me where you were. They showed me a photograph of you at a gun show selling a stolen gun to a dealer.” She was crying now. “You stole guns? Why? Please, son. Tell me the truth. I think you’re in real trouble this time!”

Derrick mouth twisted into an ugly sneer. “You can go to hell, old woman. I don’t need to hear this. Just go to hell!’

He raced up to his room. Pushing his bed against the wall, he yanked the loose floorboard up and began to rifle through the boxes he’d been storing there. Frantically, he stuffed unopened packages into a satchel and when it was full, he continued filling his pockets until they were almost bursting. Then, he pulled a long case from his closet.

Derrick looked around his room as if he were seeing it for the last time. Then he bolted down the stairs, carrying his arsenal with him.

“Oh, Derrick! Please! Where are you going?” Doris bleated.

“What did you tell them?!” he screamed, grabbing her arm.

“I … I told them you were visiting your father and I didn’t expect you back until tomorrow! Derrick let me go, please!”

“Very good. For once, you used your head!“ He let go of her arm and walked toward the door. “Goodbye, old lady,” he said. “Don’t wait up for me now, you hear?”

After surveying the block carefully, he sauntered down the steps and got into the car with Jeremy.

“So, where to, bro?” Jeremy asked curiously.

“Is the rest of the stuff in the trunk?” Derrick asked.

“Yeah, it’s in plastic garbage bags, just like you told me.”

“Good.” Derrick glanced at his watch. “It’s five-thirty. We have an hour and a half before the game to set up. Take a left up there at Derby and head for the woods behind the football field.”

“What happened back there?” Jeremy asked.

“The “Feds” showed up, that’s what happened. This is going to be the only chance we get, so we better make it count. Are you still in?” Derrick flashed his icy blue eyes in Jeremy’s direction and waited for an answer.

“What do you think?” Jeremy sniffed as if hurt Derrick would ever doubt him.

“Okay, then,” Derrick grinned. “Take off. But drive carefully. We don’t need any bubble brained traffic cops on our back just now.”

Jeremy revved the engine and frowned as the muffler rattled loudly. Avoiding Derrick’s piercing glare, he backed out slowly from the driveway.

“Chill, bro. Everything’s under control,” he said. The car rattled and groaned before it turned the corner and continued on its way.

******

Caroline finished drying her hands on the dishtowel and paused at the front door with a frown. She had just heard a gentle knock

“Who is it?” she called, hoping it was just the paperboy looking for his money.

“Uh, the name is Jack Forrester, Mrs. Bennet. I’m with the Alcohol Firearms and Tobacco Investigative Division. We need to talk to you if you don’t mind?”

Puzzled, Caroline cracked the door. “Yes?’

Agent Forrester flashed his ID and then proceeded to introduce her to his partner, Jim Kennedy.

“Sorry to bother you at this hour, ma’am, but we are conducting an investigation and it is essential we question as many residents in the area as possible.”

“Well, can it wait? We’re about to leave for a football game, and my son’s on the team.”

Jack Forester’s smile was strained. “No, ma’am, I’m sorry. It can’t wait.”

Caroline was married to a cop long enough to sense something serious in the wind. “Come in, then,” she said as she opened the door wider and let them enter. “Sonny!” she shouted, hoping a word from her ex might hurry things along. “Sonny, could you come out here a minute?” and then, to them “Please, come in. Sit down.”

“It’s alright, ma’am, if it’s all the same to you, we’ll stand. Hopefully this will just take a minute. You say you have a son on the football team. I assume he’s with Southside High School, am I right?”

“Ah, yes.” A knot of fear began to grow in the pit of her stomach. “He just started there this year. Why? What’s going on?”

“As I said, we are conducting an investigation and since it involves some students at the high school, we are trying to question as many students and parents as we can, to help us round out the picture of what has happened. It involves a shipment of missing firearms, Mrs. Bennet, and we are afraid these weapons have gotten into the hands of some of the young people in the community. We need to ask your son a few questions, with you present, of course.”

“Guns? Billy?” Caroline almost sounded relieved. “Oh, I don’t think so. His father is a police officer and he has always taught our son to respect guns. And to understand the damage they can cause. I don’t think you’ll learn too much here, Mr. Forester.”

“Let’s hope not, ma’am.”

“Caroline? Did you call me?” Sonny came into the room from the back hallway.

“Yes, please come here, Sonny. Gentlemen, I’d like you to meet my ex-husband and Billy’s father, Sonny Crockett. He’s a detective with Metro Dade in Miami. Sonny, these gentlemen are with Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco. They are asking some questions about stolen guns. In fact, they want to talk to Billy.”

She’d turned her back on the two investigators so they wouldn’t see her face and she frowned expressively at Sonny as if to say: _“Do something, please!”_

****** 

“Why don’t you give me some background,” Sonny asked.

“What unit are you with, Detective?” Jim Kennedy asked, carefully choosing his words.

“Vice. I’ve had my share of gunrunners out of Miami though, believe me, and I understand the urgency of the matter.”

“Well, good. Then I guess you’ll understand why it’s so important I talk to your son. A gun was traced to a student at the high school and we have reason to believe this student has been selling all kinds of weapons to kids in the area. We are talking to as many of the students as we can, hoping they can us something. We want to find these guns and remove them from the community before it’s too late.”

Sonny felt a pinprick of fear. He remembered a conversation he’d had with his son a year ago that started to take on a whole new meaning.

_“Dad take me to the shooting range with you. I want to watch you shoot. Maybe I could try it out, huh, Dad? Come on, please. You’ll be right there. It’ll be okay.”_

_“Shooting a gun is not something I’m necessarily proud of, Billy. It’s part of the job and nothing more. Besides, I thought you were dying to go fishing?”_

The boy seemed disappointed at the time, but once the St. Vitus picked up a good rate of speed on that windy day, he seemed to brighten and never mentioned it again. Could it have been just a momentary fascination, or had the desire lingered, only to resurface when anger and resentment began to take hold?

“Okay,” he said in a monotone voice. “Give me a minute. I’ll get him.”

Caroline shot him a look. He gave her a reassuring smile as he walked to the boy’s room. He was trying to stay calm.

"Billy, some officers are here. They want to talk to you."

Billy's head jerked up. "What?"

"They’re asking about some stolen guns. Someone in your school has been selling them. Have you heard about it?”

"Huh. No! Of course not!" Billy’s eyes slid away and Sonny’s heart sank.

"All you have to do is tell them the truth … the truth Billy."

"My game starts in half an hour. I don't have time for this. Can't you just make them go away?"

"No, I can’t. Just answer their questions and it will be over soon enough. Come on."

Their eyes locked. "Okay,” Billy said.

The taller of the two men stood, "My name’s Jack Forester, son. I’m with AFT. Do you know what that stands for?”

“Yeah. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms”

“You’re right. Good. I’m stopping by to talk to all the kids in your school. We have a few questions. I know you’re headed for a game, so I’ll make it brief.”

Billy cleared his throat. “Okay.” 

“Do you know a boy named Derrick Connors?"

Billy was starting to feel sick to his stomach. "I just started at Southside. I don’t know many kids, yet."

"Most of the kids seem to know him. He's tall and lanky with dark hair. He dresses in black all the time. He’s hard to miss."

"No. Sorry. Don't know him."

"Have you heard anything about other students having guns in your school?"

"No, I haven't. Can I go now?”

Sonny saw Kennedy’s eyes narrow. "Is there something you want to tell us, Bill?"

"I told you I don’t know anything. I have to get to my game!"

With that, Billy picked up his bag with his gear and headed for the door. He turned and gave his mother a pointed look. "I'm going to be late!"

The two men in suits left with one final statement. "If Billy does find out anything or has anything to tell us, here's our number." The shorter man handed a card to Caroline.

"My son’s honest,” she said. “I'm sure he would have told you if he knew the boy."

Sonny was in shock. Billy was hiding something. He could feel it. He saw Gina standing in the doorway.

“Honey, what’s going on?" she whispered.

He pulled her close and felt her arms squeeze him tightly. “We better get going,” he said. “I’ll explain in the car.”


	2. THE GAME

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crockett, Gina and Caroline attend Billy's first football game. Crockett didn't bring his gun....

Billy sat in stony silence, staring out the passenger window, ignoring his mother’s attempts to draw him out. Caroline finally gave up. They pulled up to the side of the school.

“Good luck, hon,” he heard her say. He picked up his backpack and exploded from the car.

Students were milling around the canteen. Members of the student government were setting up refreshments, hoping to sell enough to raise funds for the team. Cheerleaders were tying their shoelaces and primping in hand-held mirrors. Teachers waved when they saw him. The principal shouted a greeting from across the hall.

This was the moment before the game he loved the best; when the optimism was at its peak and he could actually feel the electricity in the air. As he approached the gym, he could hear locker doors banging noisily and excited voices blending together with unbridled enthusiasm.

The tension was high. The rivalry between Central and Southside had always been fierce, and each team had been preparing all summer for a rematch after the end of last season’s brutal squeaker. He heard guys calling over to him.

_“So, Crockett! You ready?’ “Looking good, buddy! Looking good!!” “You know we’re gonna kick their ass tonight, man!”_

Billy smiled with relief as he sensed the camaraderie in the room. Now, he could concentrate on putting the fear and lingering tension from the afternoon behind him.

“Hope you remember which team you’re on.” came a low menacing voice.

The taunt caught Billy off guard. A group of seniors was congregated by the showers, staring at him. Billy saw the resentment in their eyes. He had worked hard to convince them he would do his best for his new team, but the memory of last year’s defeat was obviously too fresh to ignore.

“I play for Southside, now, remember?”

Steve Cassidy was glaring. “Just as long as you remember your place, we’ll get along just fine, Crockett. I’m the Captain, and what I say, goes. Got it, blondie?”

“Yeah, I got it!”

Billy was well aware of the pecking order in this macho society of football jocks, and he had no intention of upsetting the way things were at his new school. Acceptance was going to take time and he would have to be patient.

With a dejected sigh, he lowered his backpack to the floor and slid the zipper open slowly. He glanced up to make sure he no one was around, then he pulled out the uniform and cleats. He’d wanted to leave the bag in his closet at home but decided it would be better to keep it with him in case his father got a chance to snoop. If anyone found the gun, there would be hell to pay.

But if the Feds decided to conduct a search and found the gun in his locker, he was finished. Cop or no cop, there’d be no way his Dad could get him out of that one.

******

“Okay, they switched the field lights on. Much better,” Jeremy murmured. He trained the binoculars on the pretty cheerleaders from Southside as they practiced their routine on the field.

“Oh yeah!” he added, running his tongue over his upper lip. “This is definitely more like it!”

Derrick glanced over at his friend with contempt in his eyes. “The game’s going to start in twenty minutes. We better set up. Give me the keys to the trunk.”

Jeremy tossed the keyring to Derrick without taking his eyes off the growing crowd.

“Big turnout, bro. Half the junior class is down there. Wanna see?”

Jeremy offered the binoculars to his friend. The cold blue eyes stabbed back at him. “There’s no one out there I want to see just yet. Now get off your ass and let’s get started.”

The two worked together feverishly, unloading the trunk of the car and placing several large black plastic garbage bags in a heap in the small clearing. The overgrown bushes and trees were a part of the private wooded area behind the school’s athletic fields and managed to hide them from the spectators below.

Of the two, Derrick had the most experience with weapons. His father had seen combat in the Viet Nam War, and he made sure Derrick received a “proper” education when it came to weapons. At least there was one thing he could thank his old man for.

Derrick had been the one who made the purchases from the dealers and he had impressed them all with his expertise.

“So, kid,” one of them asked. “What do you plan on doing with all this hardware?”

“Start a war,” was his answer.

The man laughed but there was something in the boy’s eyes that made him wonder.

“No skin off my nose,” he thought. “The kid has the money. Once he takes the guns off my hands, I don’t care what he does with them.”

Derrick sold handguns to a few of the students and made a nice profit. With the extra money, he contacted the dealers again. This time, he asked for more sophisticated weaponry and got the AK47’s. But his pride and joy was the DR-200, a civilian version of the K2 Korean military rifle. That was one of the stolen ones. And it had been fitted with an expensive sight that gave him excellent long-range capabilities.

Tonight, he was dressed in cargo pants with large pockets that held the extra magazines he’d need. His military cap was pulled down low over his forehead, and the black soot he’d put on his cheekbones under his eyes made his fierce expression appear even more maniacal.

The two boys lined up their weapons so they could reach them readily.

“So, remember what I showed you in practice. You load, fire and when it’s empty, you go to the next one.”

“I remember.”

Now, Derrick picked up the binoculars. “Here comes the team. Coach Butler. And there’s the captain, Steve Cassidy. The one who called you and me the ‘Misfit Brothers.” He stroked the trigger on the rifle.

“I even see a few of the geeks I sold guns to. Wonder if they managed to get the chance to even fire them over the last few months.” His chuckle was hollow and flat. “There’s Johnson. I sold him the 45, remember? And Crockett.” Derrick snorted. “That idiot didn’t have a clue about guns. I even had to show him how to hold it.”

“His dad’s a cop, you know,” Jeremy said with a yawn.

Derrick’s head spun around. His expression told Jeremy he must have said something important.

“Yeah. He was bragging about it the other day to a bunch of guys in the cafeteria.”

“No way. I saw his dad. He’s no cop.”

“That’s his step-dad. His real father lives in Miami. Doesn’t get to see him much from what Crockett was saying.”

Derrick put the binoculars back up to his eyes. “So, Crockett and his cop-dad are tight. Interesting. Wonder what the little shit told his father about his purchase?”

“You mean you think he snitched? That would be stupid. He’s the one who bought the gun.”

“Maybe he wants to get his old man’s attention. What better way than to inform on a couple of dead-end cowboys like you and me?”

Derrick adjusted the lenses and studied Billy Crockett.

“Tonight’s his first game, too. I’ll just bet Big Daddy is out there watching Billy boy right now.”

“Great! That’s all we need; cops on the field.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I kind of like the idea of using cops for target practice.” He drew in a deep breath when he saw a blonde guy go over and give Billy a high-five. "There you are," he muttered.

Derrick had always hated cops.

His father was rotting in a jail cell because of a cop. Okay. Maybe his father deserved it. He had committed murder. He had killed his own brother. And this brother was a cop.

It didn’t make a difference this cop was trash. He’d been known to plant evidence, beat suspects into submission. He was even brought up on charges of sexual assault. When John Connors learned his own brother had raped his wife, he decided it was time to take matters into his own hands.

Derrick’s mother was still in the hospital, recovering from the attack when they came to arrest his father. He was only nine years old at the time. His father didn’t resist, but when they got their hands on him, they almost beat him to death to make him pay for killing one of their own.

He remembered looking at the faces of the men who called themselves “keepers of the peace’. To him, they were worse than his father. They had no honor. They had betrayed the badge and the public trust.

His father could have gotten a death sentence, but instead, he got life, without the possibility of parole. As far as Derrick was concerned, that was worse than a lethal injection. An execution would be quick-over and done with. Staring at four walls for the rest of your life was a very slow way to die.

"So, yeah, he hated cops. And now, maybe he'd get his chance to kill one, just like his father had. Maybe even more than one if things worked out. He’d love to see the old man’s face when he found out what his kid had done. Maybe he’d be jealous. Or, better yet, maybe he’d be proud.”

Through the binoculars, he could see Billy Crockett's number 88 as the boy reached up and gave a blonde guy a high five as he passed. The resemblance between the two was unmistakable_._

His grin was wide when he put down the binoculars and stared down at the football field below. Killing a cop along with all the others was more than he could have ever hoped for. He breathed out a contented sigh. For him, it was a dream come true.

**********

Sonny stood back, watching the team gather on the sidelines. Some of the boys were shifting nervously from one foot to the other while the more seasoned players waited poised and relaxed, listening to the coach lay out his strategies as he illustrated the plays on a large pad of paper.

Billy huddled with the pack and gave his father a slight nod. Sonny responded with a thumbs-up and a smile. They had shared a high-five earlier when Sonny first got to the field. Any more communication might be interpreted as interference, so he turned on his heel and quickly headed back toward the bleachers.

Gina slipped her hand into Sonny’s as he settled down beside her. He gripped it tightly. Her warmth and support soothed him, and the painful memories of the last few hours melted away for the moment.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. Things will work out, I know it,” she said in a soft voice.

“You think so, huh?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Caroline settled down beside Sonny. “I couldn’t get a word out of him,” she said. “You don’t think he had anything to do with that boy, do you?”

He looked at her. “I hope not, Caroline.”

“I refuse to believe it. Pot, okay. He’s trying to be cool and fit in. But guns? That won’t make him popular. And you taught him respect for weapons, since he was little. He would never want to disappoint you, I know it.”

“Maybe he’s trying to get my attention.”

“I wish you’d stop. You’re scaring me.”

Sonny put his arm around her and hugged her close. “I’m sorry. I have nothing to go on but my intuition, Caroline.” He didn’t mention the incident with Billy’s backpack. “Let’s give him a chance to talk tomorrow when things have calmed down. In the meantime, we should concentrate on the game and have a little fun.”

The game started out strong and continued that way for most of the first quarter.

Billy was still on the bench.

At the start of the second quarter, Sonny saw the coach signal to his son and Billy jumped up to join the team on the field. Sonny let out a huge sigh of relief.

It didn’t take long before the boy showed what he could do. Good solid plays confirmed he knew the game and appreciated the coach’s strategy. After watching him assist on Southside’s touchdown with a fake pass, Sonny was assured the boy would make his mark before the season was over.

The score was tied 7-7 when he heard the half-time buzzer.

“I’m going down to congratulate him,” Sonny said. “Want to join me?” he asked the two women sitting next to him.

“No, you go ahead,” Gina answered. “He’ll love the praise coming from you.”

Caroline nodded in agreement. “Tell him I’m proud of him, too.”

Other parents were streaming toward the field. And students, too. As Sonny climbed down the bleachers, he could still hear the cheerleaders shouting a chant. When he reached the ground, the unthinkable happened.

Two loud cracks echoed from the trees. He recognized the sound of gunfire immediately. He saw one of the players fall to the ground.

“Get down, everyone!” he shouted. “Shots fired!”

He could see the confusion on the faces around him. Another shot rang out and a cheerleader fell. Now, the confusion turned to panic.

Sonny reached the coach on the sidelines. The man’s eyes were wide with horror. Another one of his players had just noticed the blood on his jersey and was screaming.

“Everyone, off the field!” Sonny shouted.

Coach Butler had come back to life. Between the two of them, they gathered Billy and the rest of the players and pushed them toward an equipment shed by the bench.

“Get them to the school,” Sonny shouted. “And call 911.”

People were crying, running, in every direction. Sonny knew they’d be sitting ducks if they didn’t find cover. He glanced behind him and saw Gina dragging Caroline under the bleachers.

“Good girl,” he muttered.

The coach had returned to the field. “The boys are in the gym. The rest of the cheerleaders, too. What are we going to do about the wounded on the field?”

“Nothing now. We go out there or we’ll be wounded too. Did you call 911?”

“There’s a phone in my office. I told one of the boys to call.”

“Not good enough. We need a SWAT team here, now! Go back and communicate the seriousness of this the best you can. I’m going to see if I can spot the shooter.”

Coach Butler knew Sonny was a cop. “Do you have a gun?” he asked.

“Just a small handgun. It won’t be much good against this firepower.”

The crowd had dispersed enough to reassure him the shooter had run out of targets and he glanced toward the wooded area where he’d seen the flash from a muzzle firing. Right now, it was just a peaceful setting.

There were three players and a cheerleader lying on the field, covered in blood. Sonny had told Coach Butler they’d be crazy to make themselves targets but he couldn’t just leave them there, dying in front of his eyes.

He rolled behind a large metal trashcan and used it as a shield even though he knew bullets could rip through the container easily.

“Hey, mister. Help me, please. I…I’ve been shot!” A young kid about Billy’s age was holding his hand against his face while blood oozed through his fingers and down his hand. Sonny stopped to check the wound and cringed when he saw the hole in the boy’s cheek. The bullet had exited at an angle, knocking out three of his teeth but missing everything else.

“You’re going to be okay. Stay down and don’t move! Help is coming, I promise.” He crawled to another player and turned the boy over. This one wasn’t going to make it.

The crack of gunfire disturbed the silence and Sonny looked back at the trees bordering the field. He waited for the next shot so he could locate the gunman’s’ position. A bullet whistled past his head and he ducked low just as another one spit on the ground beside him.

“Sonny!” he heard Gina shout.

“Stay there, Gina! Please, don’t come out. That’s what they want!” He couldn’t see her, but he knew she was on the verge of doing something foolish.

He crouched low and got ready to move toward the injured cheerleader when another barrage of bullets exploded all around him. His body jerked and a searing pain burned through his right shoulder. It brought him to his knees, and he put his hands to the ground in front of him in a last-ditch effort to keep his balance. His useless right arm refused to hold him, and he sank to the ground with a helpless groan.

He was pinned down and the only option he had was to stay perfectly still. He didn’t want them to know he was still alive.

“Sonny?” Fear flared in him like a match. Gina was beside him.

“Go back,” he whispered.

She’d pulled his left arm around her neck and over her shoulder.

“Can you stand?” she asked.

“Yeah…”

He heard more gunfire.

“Go back, please…,” he said, as he started to lose consciousness.

“Hold on to me, honey. We’re almost there.”

Another shot, and then another…

He felt her body jerk and then she gasped as if something had startled her.

“Gina?” he whispered in disbelief.

“It’s okay … we made it,” she answered. They’d almost reached the gym doors when she lowered him to the ground and sat down hard.

“Gina,” he said again. She didn’t answer. She was looking down at her white sweater, watching a bright red stain growing rapidly along her side.

“Baby!”

He encircled her with his good left arm, and they staggered together toward the school. They reached the metal doors and several strong hands reach out to pull them to safety.

“She’s hit. Help her, please!”

“You’re hit too, buddy. Here, lie down.”

Billy’s football coach had caught Sonny as he slid to the floor and the man put him on one of the mats they’d thrown down to accommodate the wounded victims.

“We’ll take care of her, don’t worry.”

Sonny grimaced when he tried to sit up.

“…the police?” he asked.

“We put in a call just now. It’s a good distance from the town to the school. It might take them a while.” Butler paused. “Someone padlocked the exits.”

“What?” Sonny couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“It must have happened sometime after the game started. Everyone but the custodian was out there watching the game. The custodian was in his closet listening to the Falcon’s game on his radio. He never noticed a thing.”

“So, the only way out is the front door or the gym exit to the football field.”

“Maybe the back door to the cafeteria where they take in the supplies. But that’s on the other side of the school. We’d never get  
all these wounded people there in time.”

“What the hell are they planning?” Sonny asked aloud.

He looked over at the mat beside him and saw someone bending over Gina. He could feel his panic begin to build.

“Don’t worry.” There was a woman kneeling next to Gina, and she’d seen his face.

“She’s out for now,” the woman told him. “It’s from the pain. Luckily, the bullet just grazed her side. I don’t think anything vital was hit, but of course I can’t be sure.”

He fell back on the mat.

“Let me take a look at you,” she said. “I’m Helen, the school nurse.”

He closed his eyes and let her fuss. Then, he overheard a conversation that made his blood run cold.

“Mr. Butler? Two men are coming from the woods behind the field. They’re carrying rifles.”

“Rifles?” Butler echoed.

“Barricade the doors.” Sonny winced as Helen cleaned the perimeters of the wound. “Use something heavy. It might buy us some time.”

“Maybe. But we don’t know how many shooters there are. We can’t cover them all.”

“As long as you can hold them off until the police get here…”.

A few strong men began to pull the heavy gymnastics beam from across the room and placed it in front of the door leading out to the field. A few others sat by the windows and kept a silent vigil as the precious minutes ticked by. The coach took men with him out into the hallway to help him set up a barrier.

Sonny sat up and rubbed his left hand over his face. The dizziness had passed and now the pain in his shoulder was replaced with a chilling numbness.

“Your injury is going to need some medical attention and soon,” Helen said.

“Just slap a gauze on it and let me up. I have work to do.”

“What are you going to do? Fight them with your bare hands?”

He glared at her. “If I have to, yes.”

He tried to lift his leg and failed. “Listen, Helen. Do me a favor, will you?”

“Sure.”

“There’s a small handgun in a holster strapped to my leg. Unstrap the holster and keep it close until Gina comes to. Then, give it to her, please.”

She nodded and after she removed the holster, she wrapped it in a towel and tucked it under Gina’s mat.

He stood and swallowed hard as his legs wobbled ever so slightly.

Butler had just returned from his scouting mission.

“Any idea who they might be?” Sonny asked.

“Not a clue.”

“I need to see my wife and my son,” Sonny said in a calm voice.

“They’re in the locker room, with some of the team.”


	3. The War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crockett fights to save his family and himself.

“Come on, what’s the plan, Derrick?” Jeremy was almost running to keep up. Things had gone much further than he ever imagined, and he no longer felt as committed to the cause as he had been in the beginning.

“They’re going to die.”

“Yes, I know, I know. But who is going to die? The football team, right? Coach Butler?”

“No, everybody. The players, the coach, the parents, the cheerleaders. Everybody.”

“Cheerleaders, too, eh?”

“Yeah. You have a problem with that?” Derrick stopped mid-stride and turned to confront his partner.

“Ah, no, not at all. I’m just surprised.”

“Uh, huh. Not getting cold feet now, are you?” Derrick raised the barrel of the rifle ever so slightly, making it obvious he wasn’t giving Jeremy a choice.

“Come on, Derrick! We’re in this together. I just wish we’d worked out all the details before things started happening.”

“Look down there.” Derrick raised the rifle and pointed toward the school building. “They’re all in there, waiting… waiting and defenseless. Don’t you get it? We have the upper hand. We have the fire-power. The only threat was the hotshot cop from Miami, and we took care of him. Just think. It’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel, as my Daddy used to say. Kind of makes you feel invincible, doesn’t it, Jeremy?”

The voice was cold and detached. Jeremy was reminded of the robots he used to love to watch on the Saturday morning cartoons. But that was a long time ago, and he was only ten. This wasn’t a cartoon. This was the real deal. He swallowed back the sudden urge to bolt and head back up to the safety of the trees.

Derrick checked the ammo in his backpack and hoisted the gun back over his shoulder.

“Let’s go before they bring in the reinforcements. We’ll head for the cafeteria, first and get the rest of our artillery. Then, the gym. Most of them will be there.”

“Okay,” Jeremy said in a small voice.

“Ready? Or would you rather join Steve Cassidy out there on the field?”

“Don’t bust my balls, bro. I just don’t understand the cheerleader part, that’s all. What did they ever do to you, anyway?”

“I guess you forget about Janie Summers and the little prank she played on me last summer. Her and the squad.”

“Yeah, I know. But Pat Jenkins wasn’t even in the school then. Why do we have to kill all of them?”

“Oh, yes. Pat Jenkins. I forgot about how you like her. Well, sorry, Jer. We can’t afford to play favorites.”

“Bullshit! I never agreed to that!” Jeremy growled. He was fired up enough to enjoy this brief moment of bravery.

“Okay. Suit yourself.” Derrick’s cold blue eyes had glazed over like ice on a pond, but he smiled at Jeremy without a trace of anger.

“Come on. We’re late for the party.”

He picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, never bothering to check if Jeremy was following.

Jeremy had always considered Derrick smarter than he was. A guy with all the answers. But it suddenly occurred to him, that without the support of a partner, Derrick was nothing. He couldn’t afford to put a bullet in his buddy’s brains. He needed him. And with that piece of knowledge offering him comfort, the fear Jeremy felt for the last few hours, vanished into the air, like a puff of smoke.

**********

Caroline sat on the bench by the lockers and watched Billy hug his backpack to his chest.

“So where is he, Mom?”

“I don’t know. He was on the field when Gina dragged me in here. I wanted to check, but Coach Butler said to stay away from the windows.”

“Did Gina go back out?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think she’s with Dad?”

“I’m sure she is. She’s a cop, too. They know what to do in a situation like this.”

“Mom, Dad doesn’t have his gun with him, does he?”

Caroline sighed. “I asked him to leave it behind.” For the most part, Sonny did what he wanted, but this time, she was certain he’d respected her wishes.

“Mom?”

“Yes?”

“I think I can help him.”

“What do you mean? How?”

He put the backpack on the floor and began to zip it open. Then he stopped for a moment. Caroline’s heart began to beat faster**.**

“I … I wanted him to notice, to be proud of me,” he said. “When he didn’t come to see me over the summer like he promised, I got mad. It felt like he didn’t care anymore. I…I guess I wanted to hate him.”

His anguish broke her heart. “Billy, he’s never stopped loving you.”

“I did something awful Something very wrong.”

“What could be so terrible, Billy. Tell me. Tell me and we’ll work it out together.”

“You won’t understand.”

“Why don’t you try me?”

He reached into his pack and pulled out a gun. She cringed when she saw the metal pick up the reflection from the light overhead.

“So. You were involved.”

Sonny was standing in the doorway.

“Dad… I didn’t mean … I know I made a mistake. I didn’t know how to give it back. Derrick is pretty nasty, and he makes threats all the time. I thought I could sell it to someone else. I … I’m sorry.”

“Sonny, you’ve been hurt!” Caroline cried when she noticed the bandage and his blood-stained jacket.

“It isn’t so bad. Gina was hit, too. The bullet just grazed her side, thank God, but she’s out of commission for now. We have no time to talk. The gunmen are on the move and they’re headed for the school.”

“But there are so many of us, how can they possibly hope to kill us all.”

“They have weapons. They’ve blocked off the exits and have effectively bottled us up in a small section of the school. I’d say we have quite a problem on our hands with all the wounded lying defenseless in the gym.” He held out his hand to his son. “Let me have the gun, Billy,” she heard Sonny say. “And the ammo, if you have any.”

The boy’s face brightened. “Good thing I brought it, huh Dad.”

“I’m going to need your help here, son.”

“Sure. What do you want me to do?”

“I can’t move my right hand so, I can’t load this. And I’m not sure I can even shoot. Did you learn how to use this from anyone?”

“Yeah,” he admitted, turning his head away. Derrick let me practice with him out in the field.”

Caroline moaned, “Oh, Billy….”

“Caroline! Not now!”

Sonny sat down next to his son and handed him the pistol. “I’m glad to see it isn’t loaded. There are magazines here, most likely leftover from your shooting practice. Let me see you load it up. Careful now. Remember what I said about respect for the weapon. That’s always first and foremost whenever you handle a gun.”

******

On a normal school day, food and drinks were delivered to the school’s main kitchen around eight am. This past year, Jeremy had worked off some of his conduct demerits by helping the cafeteria aides unload the heavy crates of canned goods from the trucks and stack them in the storeroom. Jeremy was familiar with the layout and he and Derrick managed to stash extra weapons and loaded magazines on the shelves late Friday afternoon after the staff went home for the weekend.

“So, the magazines are behind the sacks of rice, and your Dad’s box is on the bottom shelf, way in the back,” Jeremy told him as they hurried around to the loading dock by the southwest corner of the school.

Jeremy aimed at the kitchen door lock and shot a huge hole over the doorknob. Derrick broke out into hysterical laughter. “Outstanding!” he screeched. “What a rush!” He kicked the door with his boot, and they reached in to flip on the light. Large metal shelves lined the walls, loaded with large canisters of flour and sugar. Metal cans of cooking oil rested on the bottom shelf next to sacks of rice and macaroni.

The boys yanked the sacks aside. When they got what the needed, Derrick knelt on the floor. “This shelf?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

Derrick shoved huge cans of spaghetti sauce aside and reached back as far as he could.

There were two boxes. One held the grenades, the other was full of memories.

“Careful,” Jeremy warned. “I don’t trust the pins on those things.”

“What do you know!” Derrick snarled.

His old man had returned from Nam with shrapnel in his back. Unable to work, he became a bitter and disillusioned man. He drank and on occasion, beat his terrified wife. Derrick managed to stay out of his way but there were lonely nights when the man sought his eight-year old’s company and he’d tried to impress the boy with his deadly mementos.

Then, they sent his father to the maximum-security prison. Derrick took the box of grenades and hid them in his room, sensing that one day, he might need them for a mission of his own.

“We have plenty of ammo, but even so, don’t waste it unless you have a clear shot,” Derrick said to Jeremy.

The main door from the kitchen to the cafeteria was right in front of them. Jeremy tried to push the swinging door open but found it was locked. Then, they heard frightened voices coming from behind the doors. Derrick and Jeremy’s eyes locked.

“Some stragglers found their way to the cafeteria,” Derrick commented thoughtfully.

“Wanna shoot the door down?”

“Naw. That’s no fun. I want to see their faces.”

“There’s another way in,” Jeremy said. “Follow me.”

They spilled out into the hallway.

“Okay, we’re here, you dumb shits!” He and Jeremy burst through the cafeteria’s side door.

Several muffled screams could be heard coming from the far corner of the room. Cafeteria tables were knocked over on their sides in a desperate attempt to provide protection.

Derrick was amused. “Come on,” he laughed. “You don’t really think those cheapo plywood tables will do any good now, do you? Cut the crap and come out, now!”

They could hear a woman crying, and then a voice said, “Derrick Connors! Holy shit!”

Derrick seemed pleased. Someone recognized him.

_Good. Very good_.

“Yes. Derrick Connors And, now that I have your attention, I’d like to make some introductions.” He waved his hand at Jeremy with a flourish. “This guy here, in case you didn’t know, is my bud, Jeremy Sullivan. Take a bow, bud! Take a bow!”

Jeremy nodded with a self-conscious grin.

“And this…” Derrick pulled the assault rifle off his shoulder and held it up for all to see. “This is my other bud.”

With a sudden war-whoop, he pointed the barrel of the gun toward the ceiling and pulled the trigger twice. Pieces of acoustic ceiling tile splattered on the floor around his feet, sending up clouds of dust into the air.

“Knock it off, Connors! You got women and kids in here!”

Derrick’s stared. The voice came from the area by the candy machines. Calmly, he walked over to see who it was.

“So, Ricky Hammond. How’s it going, bro? Long time no see.”

The basketball star was folded under one of the cafeteria tables. His hands were over his head and he was trembling.

“Scared now, are we? My, my. Last time we saw you, you were laughing at us from the back of a pickup truck. Not so brave now, are ya?”

“I didn’t mean it. Come on, Derrick. This is crazy.”

Derrick set his jaw and aimed the rifle directly at the terrified student, emptying two rounds into his head. The vibration from the gun blast made the glass in the cafeteria windows rattle.

“Crazy, is it?” Derrick said. “See you in hell, my friend.”

He noticed Jeremy’s shocked expression.

“Man, shooting the spectators and football players from the woods was kind of like playing a video game in the arcade. Shooting them up close? That’s a whole ‘nother thing, bro.”

“Better get used to it. We’re just getting started.”

“I hear sirens.” Jeremy turned toward the cafeteria windows.

“Yeah? So?”

“Well, maybe we better tell them we have hostages, and they’d better stay away. We don’t want them bursting in here just yet, now, do we?”

“Well, you got a point there, my man!” He turned to leave. “Don’t go way!” he called out to his remaining survivors. He shot into the air once more.

Jeremy trailed after him.

“What time ya got?” Derrick asked when they paused outside the doors.

“Eight-thirty.”

“We’ll split up and patrol the school first to catch any more stragglers. Then, we can meet up at the gym and finish the job. Be there, no later than eight forty-five.”

Jeremy looked doubtful. “But the cops…” he began.

“Stop your worrying. It‘ll take time for the cops to set up. They don’t have a clue what’s going on, and they’ll want to be cautious. I’m going to the hallway by the auditorium, you check out the classrooms.”

“What about the rest of them in the cafeteria? They might come out and cause trouble.”

“Are you kidding? After what they just saw? No way.”

“Watch your back,” Jeremy said with a frown of concern. He didn’t like what he was seeing, and Derrick might be too agitated to be careful.

“Watch my back? What’s with you?! Can’t you see? No one’s going to get in our way! They are all scared shitless!”

Derrick’s hysterical laughter echoed down the empty hall as he headed toward the center of the school.

“Here I come, everybody!” he sang. “Ready or not!”

******

They heard the shots.

“It’s coming from the cafeteria. My God!” Caroline cried.

Sonny shook his head. “I can’t risk this,” he said.

“But Dad…”

“Our gun can’t compete. They’ll mow us down before we could get off one round. I’m going to have to figure out another way. He took back the pistol.

“You need me,” the boy said.

“I need you to stay here and protect your mother. Barricade the doors with anything you can find . Then stay over to the side in case they try to shot their way in.”

“What about Gina? Who’s gonna watch over her?”

“Coach Butler’s doing the same in the gym. You guys should be able to hold out until the Swat team gets here.” He was trying to sound confident for the boy’s sake. “I’ll be back,” he said, and he hugged him with his good arm.

When he stood, he was relieved to find he wasn’t lightheaded.

“What are you going to do? No, please, Sonny! Stay here!” Caroline started to whimper. Sonny looked at her for a moment.

“Don’t,” he said.

He pulled her to him and kissed her hard on the lips, then opened the door and slipped out into the darkened hallway.

He reviewed what Billy told him about the layout of the school. There was an open-air courtyard in the center where the kids congregated during breaks between classes. The gunman would have to pass it to get to the gym. He glanced inside and was happy with what he found. It had some pillars and alcoves; perfect for concealment. He might get one clean shot. If he was lucky, he’d get two.

The pistol was in his left hand. He’s been trained to shoot left-handed, in case he was injured and forced to switch.

_Like now_

Even so, it felt strange when he tried to aim.

“It’ll have to do,” he thought.

Dropping to both knees, Sonny tried to get comfortable. He was exhausted from the pain, and loss of blood, but he forced himself to take deep breaths in order to stay alert.

He heard the sound of a shot and then a door slamming. It was pretty close. Or maybe the vibrating echoes along the long empty corridors just made it seem that way.

“Dad?”

Sonny’s head snapped around.

“Billy. My God, what are you doing here!”

“I came to find you, Dad. You can’t shoot. You need me.”

“Damn it! You should have stayed in the locker room with your mother.”

He wanted to send him back, but the shot he had heard could have come from anywhere.

“Get down, Billy. Here, behind me.”

The boy scooted around his father and positioned himself behind the pillar. Sonny raised his head just high enough to be able to see out of the atrium glass window. He knew it was only a matter of time before they’d see a gunman coming toward them.

Billy slipped his arm around his Dad’s waist and hugged him.

“I love you, Dad,” he said. “And I’m sorry.”

“I love you too, Billy.” Sonny saw raw terror in his eyes.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “I’m here, and between the two of us, we’ll lick them good!”

A small smile lit up Billy’s face. Sonny put his hand under Billy’s chin and tilted the boy’s head back. It was like looking into a mirror. He saw his own blue green eyes, the golden hair. Then, he saw Caroline’s mouth. There was that funny sprinkle of freckles across his nose and those feathery lashes.

He barely knew him. His little boy had become a man, and Sonny wasn’t there to see it happen. Instead of being the center of Billy’s universe, another man was molding his son’s character and teaching him right from wrong.

_No, I’m the one who’s sorry, Billy._

There was so much promise in this child, so many dreams Sonny had for his future. It crushed him to think it could all be destroyed in a second by the simple whim of a gun-toting madman.

“Keep an eye on the back hallway, will ya? And tell me everything you see.”

“Okay. I got it, Dad.”

They were a team, he and his boy. Even if this was the end, at least they’d be together. It was a chilling thought, but it did comfort him a little.

Screams could be heard from far away, followed by several loud gun blasts.

“The gun, Dad. Give me the gun!”

“Not yet. I might still be able to use it. If I get into trouble, I’ll let you know.”

He used his left hand to pull the gun from the waistband of his pants. The movement felt awkward and uncoordinated. “I’ve got feeling in my shoulder and some tingling in the elbow. Now if I could just…” he lifted up his right wrist and placed the heavy pistol against the palm. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes and stubbornly willed the lifeless hand to close around the handle. The fingers moved slightly, and Sonny let out a gasp from the exertion. Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead as he made a second attempt.

More screams from down the hall, a women this time, pleading for mercy.

“Damn it!” Sonny cried. “Come on!” His fingers were stiff and swollen and as his injured muscles flexed, fire-like pain shot up his arm. Biting his lip with frustration, he watched helplessly as the gun slipped from his grasp.

“It’s okay. I can do it, Dad, honest. And you’ll be there to help, so it’ll be fine.”

Billy picked up the gun and held it by his side. “Now Dad. When we see the guy, I’ll just point and aim, like this.” He held the gun in front of him, aiming at an imaginary target.

“See? Aim, squeeze and fire, just like you taught me.”

It hurt to see him pointing a gun, getting ready to kill someone. But Sonny knew there was no other way.

Glancing out into the hallway, he saw someone coming. A heavy-set young man was strolling along, turning his head from side to side. Slung over his shoulder was what looked like a heavy assault rifle.

Sonny turned to Billy.

“Get ready,” he whispered.

The gunman must have heard something. He was crouched down a little, moving slower.

“Wait until he’s closer. You’ll only have one shot. Aim for the head. We don’t want to give him a chance to fire back.”

The shooter passed the doors to the auditorium and was almost to the courtyard entrance. Sonny didn’t dare whisper again. Partially concealed behind the pillar, Billy held the gun with two hands. Sonny marveled at his self-confident stance.

“Military style,” he thought. “He learns fast.”

A figure was silhouetted in the entranceway to the atrium. Sonny could see the assault rifle slung over his shoulder.

_He never expected resistance … he’s not ready to fire_

Sonny poked Billy gently and the pistol fired, twice. There was no cry. Not even a gasp. Just the sound of metal hitting concrete and the thud of a body following soon after.

“I hit him, Dad. I got him!”

It was sad to hear him rejoice. But there was no time to beat himself up over it. What was done was done.

From the beginning, he was convinced there were only two attackers. One was down. Now they had another one more to worry about.

******

Derrick was getting ready. Holding the grenade in his hand, he crept toward the courtyard.

He told Jeremy they should split up and now he was sorry for making that decision. He saw his partner, lying on his back in the hallway.

“Sorry about that, bro.”

It didn’t really bother him that Jeremy was dead. The guy had served his purpose.

He heard more sirens and saw the flash of red on the walls. A guy with a megaphone called out for him give it up and come out. He laughed. “What for? So you can kill me? I’m going to die one way or the other. Might as well take as many with me as I can.”

He continued down the corridor toward Jeremy’s body. Derrick realized his friend was shot in front of the courtyard.

“Someone’s in the courtyard, and he has a gun,” he thought.

This intrigued him. Maybe one of the guys who bought a gun from him brought it to the game.

He waited, listening for sounds. It was deathly quiet.

“Okay, I know you’re in there,” he shouted. “I don’t care if you shoot me or not. I’ve got nothing to lose.” He pulled the pin on the grenade and threw it in as far as he could. He heard it strike something hard and then scatter across the smooth tile.

“Bye, bye, sucker,” he whispered.

He waited, knowing the blast would be powerful enough to kill him, too. But he didn’t care. It’s like what he said to Jeremy a short time ago. “Better to go out in a blaze of glory than rot in a jail cell for eternity.”

The clock in his mind continued to tick. And still, there was no blast. Now, he started to sweat. He moved closer to the atrium and peered inside.

Billy Crockett was standing there, aiming a pistol at his head. Behind him was the hotshot cop.

“Don’t move, the cop said. “Toss the rifle. Put your hands on your head and get on your stomach. Now!”

Derrick saw Sonny’s arm hanging at his side and knew the cop’s wasn’t much of a threat. He ignored the order and concentrated on the kid holding the gun. “Easy there now, Billy boy. You shouldn’t be playing with that thing. It takes a lot of training to know how to use it. And after seeing you shoot at those tin cans, I know you don’t know what the hell you’re doing.”

“Don’t listen to him, Billy. He’s trying to distract you.”

“See my face, my eyes?” Derrick continued. “I’m looking right at you, bro. Think you can pull that trigger? When someone’s looking right at you? I don’t think so, man.”

Billy turned slightly. He crouched into position and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit Derrick’s shoe and he began to scream. “Shit! My foot … my foot!”

“If you don’t do what my Dad said and throw down that rifle, I’ll do it again.”

Derrick rolled back and forth, screaming in agony. The rifle slipped off his shoulder and slid a short distance away.

“Go for the gun and I’ll aim for your heart,” Billy said.

It shocked Sonny to hear him say that. Shocked him to the core. “My God, Billy, he thought. “Did you learn that from me?”

They could hear the front doors crash open and sounds of heavy boots stomping down the hallway. Sonny saw the Swat team helmets and rested his forehead on Billy’s shoulder.

“It’s over, Billy.”

Billy was still pointing the gun at Derrick. He held it so tightly, his hands were shaking.

“You did good, son. I’m proud of you.”

Billy started to cry.


	4. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People come together to try and heal after a terrible tragedy.

Sonny was out of surgery and lying on a stretcher in the recovery room. The nurses allowed Gina to sit next to him. She was the first thing he saw when he woke up.

“Hey there,” she said when she saw him open his eyes.

“Hey.” His voice was still heavy from the anesthesia.

“How’re you feeling.”

“Swell.” He smiled, then flinched when he tried to move. “How ‘bout you?”

“It was just a scratch. I got stitches in the ER and they let me go.”

“Hmm,” he murmured. “Lucky…”

He fell back to sleep.

That afternoon, he woke up and saw Billy. The boy’s chin was resting on the bed’s metal side rail.

“Hi, Dad.” The boy was tired, but his eyes were bright.

“Hello, son. How’s it going?”

“Good.”

Caroline came over to the bedside. “Sonny, thank God.”

“Caroline.”

“The doctor says you’re going to be fine. After some PT, your trigger finger will be as good a new.

Sonny frowned at her little joke but gave her a chuckle anyway.

“One of the gunmen died. Derrick. They arraigned Derrick Connors this afternoon. From what I hear, he’s got lots of trouble ahead.”

“He sure does. He’ll go away for a long time.”

“You know, they took you away in the ambulance pretty fast. You never got the chance to hear what almost happened.”

“Almost happened? Man, what we went through was bad enough. What else could there have been?”

“Derrick Connors tossed a grenade at you and Billy.”

Sonny’s eyes widened.

_I never saw it …_

“They found it under a bench in the atrium. The pin was pulled. But it failed to detonate.

“Thank God!”

Caroline smiled.

_Yeah. You’re right … thank God_

They sat there for a time, lost in their own thoughts.

“Tell me, Caroline. How many casualties?”

“Fifteen dead, including one gunman. twenty wounded, including you and Gina. The school will be closed for a while. They have a mobile counseling unit set up. The lines have been around the block.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet.” He looked over at Billy. “You went to the counseling, right, son?”

“Not yet. I wanted to stay here with you.”

Caroline put a hand on Sonny’s arm. “I’ll take care of it, I promise. We have to go, Billy. Dad needs some rest.” She saw the alarm on Billy’s face, and she sat back down.

“It’s okay,” Sonny told him. ‘If you let me sleep a little, you can stay as long as you like.”

Sonny closed his eyes.

******

“Comfy?” Caroline asked Sonny as Gina adjusted the shoulder strap across his chest. She was grinning from ear to ear.

“Do I really have to wear this?” he asked. There was a glum expression on his face.

“Yes, you do!” Gina scolded. “All you need now is to be thrown forward and you’ll be right back in the slammer!”

Sonny was sure he heard his son stifle a laugh. “You’ll pay for that, wise guy!”

“Sorry, Dad. It’s just funny to see someone order you around, that’s all. Gina’s pretty tough.”

“Yes,” Caroline chimed in. “We should all take notes on how she manages to get you to listen. Lord knows I’ve been trying to make you wear a seat belt for years.”

Gina settled in beside him and examined her handiwork with a satisfied smile. “Good. Now I have you right where I want you,” she told him. She had a devilish gleam in her eye.

“You’ll stay a couple of days with us, before you even think about going back, Sonny, right?” Caroline asked. She knew Sonny would be on the mend for a while and this would be the perfect opportunity for him to be with his son.

“Yeah, that would be great,” Sonny said without hesitation. “I’m going to call Castillo in the morning.”

Caroline’s face registered instant shock.

“Really, Dad?” Billy shrieked. “You mean it?”

Sonny felt a sharp pain in his right ear. “Pipe down, buddy! Now on top of everything else, I’m deaf!”

“Sorry, Dad. It’s just, well, you’re always so tied up with work and all. I’m just happy, I guess.”

The remark hurt. Why did it take a tragedy to make him wake up to realize how important he was to his son?

“No harm done, kid. Just promise me, not too many of those video games, okay? I’m not sure I can compete with this bum shoulder.”

“Oh, yeah! Excuses, excuses! You don’t want me to show you up, that’s all.”

Caroline looked in the rear-view mirror and saw Sonny looking back with love in his eyes.

_“Thank you,”_ she mouthed, giving back a loving look of her own.

******

Billy lay on the chaise lounge on the deck, staring at the pond behind his house and thinking over last night’s get together with his teammates.

He was sure that anyone who was a stranger to these parts and unfamiliar with recent events, would never have guessed that the fifteen boys gathered together in the local pizza parlor, had just witnessed a heartbreaking tragedy just two weeks ago. They had been talkative that night, almost raucous.

It wasn’t as if they didn’t care or that they didn’t feel the horror any less than the adult members of the community. It was just that they were very young and for a little while, they needed to return to normalcy. It was important for them to experience a few of the old familiar pleasures they had left behind in a previous life; a life without bloodshed and death.

Jack Butler lived nearby and after they’d finished eating, they all shuffled out together, walking single file, to his house. The friendly banter was gone now, replaced by a grimness one might see on the faces of experienced soldiers, marching back from war.

When he came into the family room, Billy headed for a chair by a window, while the rest of the guys huddled close together on the floor. He remembered seeing the coach study him closely.

Butler had invited the kids to meet with him; to talk about their feelings and their fears. Billy knew his coach fought in Viet Nam, just like his dad. Billy imagined the massacre at Southside High School had been just as bloody as any battle on the fields of war. He shuddered when he closed his eyes and saw the bodies of his fallen teammates staring at the sky.

The talk went well at first.

“It’s natural to feel guilty,” the coach told them. “When someone we care about is a victim of violence and we ourselves have survived, we begin to ask the question, ‘why’? We are afraid we let our loved ones down. Or maybe we’re afraid someone will think we ran and let someone else take a bullet for us. Now that’s a heavy load to be carrying. How many of you saw someone we love hurt that night at the game?”

Most of the hands in the room were raised.

“How many saw someone killed?”

A few hands went down, but a few still remained, including Billy’s. Jack’s eyes softened.

“Why don’t you tell us about it, Billy?”

“No. No, I don’t think so, coach,” he mumbled. “I … I don’t want to talk about it yet.”

John Saxon had turned around and Billy remembered feeling relief flood over him when he saw John’s friendly smile. John was one of the halfbacks on the team, and he also sat next to Billy in Math. They had shared notes before a test a few times.

“Hey, Bill!” John called out in a friendly tone. “You and your Dad were sensational!”

The rest of the boys turned around, and Billy felt his cheeks burn.

“It really was my Dad. He told me what to do.”

“How’s Dad now?” Jack prodded.

“Better.”

“Is he still staying with you?”

“Yeah. He’s on medical leave.” He wondered why the coach was making him tell the group about his Dad. Some of the guys lost people they loved or knew. Wasn’t that more important?

Then, it hit him.

“I … I almost lost my Dad,” he stammered. “Damn that shit, Derrick!”

At that moment, it felt like someone had taken possession of his body and his mind. He fought to catch his breath. He remembered standing then.

“He tried to kill us. And he tried to take my Dad away!” he shouted. “My Dad!”

And that was all he could say. No more words would come out of his mouth. He heard himself begin to sob.

He looked at the faces around him. Some of the boys were embarrassed for him and turned away. Others watched, their eyes, full of compassion. Jack Butler came over and put an arm around him.

“Bill?” he asked with concern. “It’s okay.”

John was standing next to him, too. “Hey, buddy. I’m sorry. I know how much you care about your Dad.”

One of the other guys got up and came over.

Helen, the school nurse, had been sitting on the sidelines watching and now she was there in the circle that had formed protectively around the boy.

“Billy,” she asked in a soft voice. “Do you want me to take you home?”

Billy was beginning to feel panic-stricken that he couldn’t control his emotions in front of these strangers and for a moment he wanted nothing more than to disappear. But through it all, he kept hearing his father’s voice, soothing him, helping him regain his balance.

_“Show them, buddy. Show them what you’re made of!”_

He breathed in slowly, his hands opening and closing into tight angry fists.

“No,” he said in a quivering voice. “I want to stay. I need to tell you everything.”

It all came tumbling out. How much he missed his father over the years and how his father’s absence had hurt him. His voice was strong and steady as he told them how he tried to win his father’s approval.

He hadn’t planned on telling them the rest, but the terrible secret had been festering inside for too long.

He told them about his relationship with Derrick, and how the charismatic student had lured him into believing that a gun would make him strong. It hadn’t taken much to convince Billy that this was true. His father was the best marksman he had ever seen. Maybe being good with his father’s weapon of choice would finally make him sit up and take notice.

“I … I knew Derrick was bad news, but I had no idea he was so dangerous. I heard kids were buying guns from him. I didn’t think it would be so bad. I just wanted to practice out in the woods. Get good like my Dad, and then surprise him when he took me to the range. I knew it was a mistake as soon as I brought it home. It didn’t feel right, hiding it in my closet. All I could think about was how to get rid of it.

“My Dad was visiting here for the game,” he continued. “He almost found it in my backpack. He knew I was hiding something when I grabbed the bag out of his hands. I couldn’t stand the disappointment in his eyes.”

Now some tears were streaming down his cheeks.

“He’s a cop, and I was afraid he’d snoop, so, I brought the bag to school the night of the game and hid it in my locker. When the shooting started, I knew someone had to take charge, so I gave the gun to my Dad. I was sure he would save us … and he did. But now, I’m sorry I didn’t tell him sooner about Derrick. Maybe someone could have done something before this happened. I’m sorry… I didn’t know.”

The room had gotten quiet. Billy knew he had shocked them and suddenly, he felt utterly alone. He was sure all of them would hate him, blame him. He began to regret being so open. His mother and father seemed very far away, and these strangers owed him nothing.

John broke the silence and put his hand on Billy’s shoulder. “I bought one from him,” he said. “The jerk had some beauties and I like to target practice with my Dad, too. Nothing wrong with that, I guess, except I kinda knew Derrick must have gotten them illegally. He was selling them for a song, and it was the only way I would ever be able to afford it, so I turned my head the other way.”

One of the other boys cleared his throat. “I did, too. And my older cousin from Denton bought one.”

A murmur went around the room, and Billy’s eyes grew wide when he realized seven of his teammates had been taken in, too.

The coach put up his hand and stopped them from going any further. “This is serious stuff, boys. A crime has been committed and some of you bought weapons from the boy responsible for the injury and death of quite a few people. The authorities will want to know all about this, and I suggest you discuss this with your parents before the police come knocking on your door. You all need to go home now. We’ll meet again next Thursday, same time, at the pizza joint and then my house. Take it easy and if you need to talk to me, you have my number. My door is always open. Those of you who need rides, come on over here and we’ll call the parents who offered to car-pool.”

The group broke up after that, and Billy began to calm down as the boys filed past, some shaking his hand, others clapping him on the shoulder, telling him to hang in there. One even told him they were all in this together.

He remembered how amazed those words had made him feel. The guys didn’t hate him! They respected him! It had been quite a night. He had learned a lot about himself and about the new community he now called home.

The coach dropped him off in front of his house, and before he left, he leaned out of his car window and said, “It’s going to be okay, Billy. Your Dad’s recovering well. Both your parents love you very much. They’re there for you, son. And so am I.”

Billy felt such a rush of affection and admiration for this man, he almost choked when he answered. “I’ll call you, coach. Thanks for saying that.”

The kitchen door had just slammed, startling him out of his reverie and he turned his head when he heard the footsteps on the deck.

“Mom?”

His stepfather was standing there with Peter in his arms.

“Hey, I thought you were Mom. Where is she, anyway?”

“She’s in the living room, Bill. Your Dad’s there, too. They’re with some people who want to talk to you.”

Billy’s heart began to thud painfully in his chest.

“Who?” he asked him.

“Federal agents. They’re here to ask about the gun.”

“I…do I have to? I didn’t mean to do anything wrong. Can’t you tell them I’m just a kid?”

“I’ve called the family lawyer. He says he’s on his way… just in case.”

Billy couldn’t believe this was happening.

“These men are waiting. We’ll protect you, I promise. Now let’s get in there before they think you’ve got something to hide.”

******

Once the plane reached cruising altitude, Sonny and Gina started to relax. Both of them were exhausted.

“Close your eyes,” Sonny said to her.

“Not yet. I want to hear what you else you said to Billy.”

“I told him I loved him, and I’d be coming back at Christmas. Then, I told him again how proud I was to have him as my son.”

She smiled. “He told me he was sad you were going, but he did seem okay when you turned to wave that last time.”

“He’s going to need a lot of counseling and support. This whole thing has devastated him. Caroline is beside herself with worry.”

“I don’t blame her. But at least the penalties for buying the gun weren’t too severe.”

“Yeah, Georgia’s laws aren’t that tough. He was charged with a misdemeanor. He could have gotten time in a juvenile detention center. But the judge heard the lawyers argument and agreed this was a good kid who’d made a mistake. And, more importantly, he’s a good kid who’ll never do it again. Community service will give him something to think about it. Jack Butler told me the other boys got the same.”

“I guess the judge took the massacre into consideration. Maybe he felt they’d been punished enough.”

“Maybe. If it happened in Florida, they may not have been so lucky. I know a few judges down there who would have thrown the book at them.”

“Well, there’s one reason to be happy he moved.”

“That’s the only reason I can think of, Gina.” He gazed out the window for a minute. “I’m not going to complain, though. And I’m not going to avoid getting involved anymore. Bob’s okay, I guess, and he means well. But he’s not Billy’s dad. I’m his Dad.”

Gina squeezed his hand. “Yes, you are,” she said. “And you’re a good one, too.”

“Thanks.” He squeezed her hand back and closed his eyes with a sigh. “So, can we get some shut-eye now?”

“I guess so. But we’ll be on the ground before you know it.”

“Are you saying you want to talk some more?”

“Sure, why not? How often do we get the chance to have an uninterrupted conversation?”

“Not often enough, that’s for sure.”

“So, now that I have your undivided attention, I thought we could talk about the honeymoon. You know, like where we should go and all.”

He wanted to roll his eyes, but he didn’t dare.

“How about a weeklong cruise on the St. Vitus?”

When she didn’t answer, he looked over at her. It was all he could do to keep a straight face. “Guess not, huh.”

“You guessed right, bucko. Okay, so you’re not in the mood. Fine. Go to sleep, then.”

She opened a magazine and pretended it didn’t matter. He grinned and shut his eyes.

“See you in Miami, _sweetheart_.”

He said it with that awful Bogey imitation he used whenever he wanted to tease her. It usually made her laugh.

This time, he was sure he heard her groan.


End file.
